We study the long-run relationship between public debt and growth in a large panel of countries. Our analysis takes particular note of theoretical arguments and data considerations in modeling the debt-growth relationship as heterogeneous across countries. We investigate the issue of...

A positive financial market and real sector developments support Ireland's capacity to exit the EU-IMF supported program at year's end. But the underlying fiscal and financial situation is still difficult, and continued strong policy execution remains paramount. Improvement in dealing with...

The Eighth Review Under the Extended Arrangement discusses Ireland’s fiscal policy, financial reforms, economic growth, and employment. The policy implementation of Ireland continued to remain strong, even though the country has been susceptible to global financial shocks....

Ireland has made progress in overcoming the economic crisis. The new coalition government’s strategy for restoring sustained growth, sound public finances, and job creation has been put forward in the context of the European Union/IMF-supported program. On this basis, the government...

Low-income countries continue to face significant challenges in meeting their vast development needs while maintaining a sustainable debt position, even after many of these countries have benefited from substantial debt relief. These challenges are further exacerbated by changes in the financial...

This staff report for the Request for Stand-By Arrangement of Hungary examines financing conditions and economic challenges. Hungary was among the first emerging market countries to suffer from the fallout of the current global financial crisis. Compared with other emerging markets,...

This paper looks at the link between fiscal policy and debt sustainability in a number of African countries participating in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. The paper finds that, on the basis of current fiscal policies, debt levels will remain unsustainable even after...